Credit Courses

Learning-Centred Teaching in Higher Education | 05-80-502

This course (36 hours, typically one semester) offers graduate students the opportunity to explore and critically evaluate principles and theories of learning-centred practice, specifically as they interact with the institutional contexts typical of higher education. Students will synthesize research findings with their own teaching and learning experiences in higher education, experimenting with a wide range of empirically proven approaches to systematically improving instruction. In conjunction with assigned readings and other scholarly texts on teaching practice in higher education, the cross-listed nature of the course provides a rich opportunity for student examination of disparate post-secondary disciplinary learning cultures and academic settings, and the implications that these differences hold for the application of the approaches explored in the course.

Through peer-reviewed class facilitation employing learning-centred approaches, students in the course will also develop skills including communicating complex concepts in clear terms to varied audiences; planning, facilitating and analyzing group work and interpersonal interaction; critical thinking; leading, guiding and mentoring others, and comfort with the application of a range of active learning strategies. Reflection on practice constitutes a central thread of student learning in the course. Course assignments emphasize scholarly writing through the integration of research and practice.

The course is of particular interest to teaching assistants and future members of the professoriate, but no university teaching experience is required. In some cases, outside of Education, the course may be taken to complement the course requirements for a graduate program rather than as a replacement for course requirements in a given field or discipline, according to departmental policy. Students are advised to consult with their supervisors before enrolling in this course. This three-credit course is open to University of Windsor graduate students in all disciplines and fields.

Course Design for Constructive Alignment | 05-80-591 (23)

This course (36 hours, typically one semester) introduces participants to the principles and practice of effective course design by actively involving them in course creation. Along the way participants will learn about all of the elements of a well-aligned course, navigate through some controversial topics in teaching and learning, evaluate and be evaluated by their peers, reflect on their experiences, be challenged to reason through their choices, and generally discover that course design can be far more complex than they’d ever imagined! All content is learned through application to course design, refined through cycles of reflection and evaluation (self, peer, and instructor). By the end of the course, the successful participant will have constructed a well-designed, constructively-aligned course.

The University Teaching Practicum | 05-80-591 (26)

This course (roughly 72 hours, September to April, biweekly) takes a learning-community approach to teaching development. While enrolled in this course you will be observed in class multiple times by your instructors and colleagues. Each observation will be followed by feedback, including suggestions for improvement. At the biweekly meetings, you will discuss the feedback you’ve received and plan strategies to build on your strengths and address your challenges. In addition, some meetings will be devoted to address teaching and learning issues, topics, and concerns that have been identified by you and your colleagues – so much of the course content is up to you!

Philosophy of Scholarly Teaching | 05-80-591 (29)

This course (36 hours, winter semester, weekly) gives you the opportunity to dig into the teaching and learning literature and use it to make sense of who you are as a teacher – what you believe and value about teaching, learning, assessment, students, all of it – and how your identity is realized in your practices. By the end of the course, you should have a strong, defensible conception of why you teach the way you do, why it matters, why your approaches are worth respecting. At the same time, however, you’ll also develop an understanding of why those who hold very different beliefs and values regarding teaching believe what they do.